Reactions to "New" Technologies

With the advent of new media forms (i.e. the telegraph, radio, television, internet, video games) comes dramatic social change and controversy. As Covert mentions, people are reluctant to automatically say "out with the old, in with the new." It is often hard to grasp certain aspects of emerging technology, and people are sometimes afraid of what they don't understand. People used to believe Communists were going to brainwash radio listeners. Williams mentions that we usually look at technology and society in terms of a cause-effect relationship. The technological determinism theory suggests that our history (including social and cultural values) has all been shaped by technology. Although this theory obviously has it's flaws, some still believe that certain existing mediums will start a downward spiral, almost apocalyptic in outcome.
The content in mass media has always been a highly debated topic. Covert mentions that people were scared that radio listeners weren't engaging in the medium, but rather passively consuming, "swallowing all that they hear, whole and without thought." As if the content were a drug, injected by a hypodermic needle. The recent video game controversies are reminiscent of this same case. Some people (such as Hillary Clinton and Jack Thompson) link the rise of high school and college shootings, with increasingly violent video games. Is this fear unfounded? Or is there a cause-effect relationship? It seems these questions will always arise with every new technology.